Helping your Child Learn to Read
Helping your Child Learn to
Read
With activities for children from infancy through
age 10
By Bernice Cullinan and Brod Bagert
Foreword
"Why?"
This is the question we parents are always
trying to
answer. It's good that children ask questions:
that's the best
way to learn. All children have two wonderful
resources for
learning--imagination and curiosity. As a parent,
you can
awaken your children to the joy of learning by
encouraging
their imagination and curiosity.
Helping Your Child Learn to Read is one
in a series of
books on different education topics intended to
help you make
the most of your child's natural curiosity. Teaching
and
learning are not mysteries that can only happen
in school. They
also happen when parents and children do simple
things
together.
For instance, you and your child can:
sort the socks on
laundry day-sorting is a major function in math
and science;
cook a meal together-cooking involves not only
math and science
but good health as well; tell and read each other
stories--storytelling is the basis for reading
and writing (and
a story about the past is also history); or play
a game of
hopscotch together playing physical games will
help your child
learn to count and start on a road to lifelong
fitness.
By doing things together, you will show
that learning is
fun and important. You will be encouraging your
child to study,
learn, and stay in school.
All of the books in this series tie in
with the National
Education Goals set by the President and the Governors,
The
goals state that, by the year 2000: every child
will start
school ready to learn; at least 90 percent of
all students will
graduate from high school; each American student
will leave the
4th, 8th, and 12th grades demonstrating competence
in core
subjects; U.S. students will be first in the world
in math and
science achievement; every American adult will
be literate,
will have the skills necessary to compete in a
global economy,
and will be able to exercise the rights and responsibilities
of
citizenship; and American schools will be liberated
from drugs
and violence so they can focus on learning.
This book is a way for you to help meet
these goals. It
will give you a short rundown on facts, but the
biggest part of
the book is made up of simple, fun activities
for you and your
child to do together. Your child may even beg
you to do them.
At the end of the book is a list of resources,
so you can
continue the fun.
Let's get started. We invite you to find
an activity in
this book and try it.
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
The Basics
Start Young and Stay with It
Advertise the Joy of Reading!
Remember When You Were Very Young
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Important Things To Know
It's Part of Life
One More Time
Talking about Stories
The More the Merrier
How Do I Use This Book?
Read Along
Look for Books
Books and Babies
R and R: Repetition and Rhyme
Poetry in Motion
Read to Me
Family Reading Time
Story Talk
Write and Talk, Too
Tot Talk
What's in a Name?
World of Words
Book Nooks
Family Stories
Now Hear This
P.S. I Love You
Easy as Pie
Write On
TV
Make a Book
Make Your Own Dictionary
Parents and the Schools
A Postscript about Older Children
Resources
Acknowledgments
Introduction
When parents help their children lean
to read, they help
open the door to a new world. As a parent, you
can begin an
endless learning chain: You read to your children,
they develop
a love of stories and poems, they want to read
on their own,
they practice reading, and finally they read for
their own
information or pleasure. They become readers,
and their world
is forever expanded and enriched.
This book focuses primarily on what you
can do to help
children up to 10 years of age. During these years
you can lay
the foundation for your child to become a lifelong
reader. In
the first section, you will find some basic information
about
reading to your child. This is followed by suggestions
that
guide you to
* read with your child and make this all-important
time
together enjoyable;
* stimulate your child's interest in reading
and language;
and
* learn about your child's school reading
programs and find
ways to help.
While most of the book is for parents
of children up to 10
years of age, there is a brief section for parents
of older
children on how to help them continue to grow
as readers.
Finally, there is a resource section.
As you make reading
with your child a routine part of your lives,
this section will
help you to find new ideas and a variety of books
you both
might like.
You don't need to be an especially skillful
reader
yourself to help your child. In fact, some public
libraries
offer adult literacy programs that involve reading
to children
as a way to improve literacy skills for the whole
family. Nor
do you have to devote great amounts of time to
reading with
your child. It's the quality of time that counts.
Just be
consistent--give as much time as you can each
day to help your
child. The activities suggested are designed to
fit into busy
schedules.
Helping your child become a reader is
an adventure you
will not want to miss. The benefits to your child
are
immeasurable, and in the process you will find
your world
becoming richer as well.
The Basics
There is no more important activity for
preparing your
child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud
together. Fill
your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent,
be
patient, and watch the magic work.
Start Young and Stay with It
At just a few months of age, an infant
can look at
pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects
on
cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing
to the pictures,
and say the names of the various objects. By drawing
attention
to pictures and associating the words with both
pictures and
the real-world objects, your child will learn
the importance of
language.
Children learn to love the sound of language
before they
even notice the existence of printed words on
a page. Reading
books aloud to children stimulates their imagination
and
expands their understanding of the world. It helps
them develop
language and listening skills and prepares them
to understand
the written word. When the rhythm and melody of
language become
a part of a child's life, learning to read will
be as natural
as learning to walk and talk.
Even after children lean to read by themselves,
it's still
important for you to read aloud together. By reading
stories
that are on their interest level, but beyond their
reading
level, you can stretch young readers' understanding
and
motivate them to improve their skills.
Advertise the Joy of Reading!
Our goal is to motivate children to want
to read so they
will practice reading independently and, thus,
become fluent
readers. That happens when children enjoy reading.
We parents
can do for reading what fast food chains do for
hamburgers...
ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories
and poems
to children.
We can help our children find the tools
they need to
succeed in life. Having access to information
through the
printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge
is power, and
books are full of it. But reading is more than
just a practical
tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we
can also relax
and enjoy some precious leisure moments.
With your help, your children can begin
a lifelong
relationship with the printed word, so they grow
into adults
who read easily and frequently whether for business,
knowledge,
or pleasure.
Remember When You Were Very Young
Between the ages of 4 and 7, many children
begin to
recognize words on a page. In our society this
may begin with
recognition of a logo for a fast food chain or
the brand name
of a favorite cereal. But, before long, that special
moment
when a child holds a book and starts to decode
the mystery of
written words is likely to occur.
You can help remove part of the mystery
without worrying
about a lot of theory. Just read the stories and
poems and let
them work their wonders. There is no better way
to prepare your
child for that moment when reading starts to "click,"
even if
it's years down the road.
It will help, however, if we open our
eyes to some things
adult readers tend to take for granted. It's easier
to be
patient when we remember how much children do
not know. Here
are a few concepts we adults know so well we forget
sometimes
we ever learned them.
* There's a difference between words and
pictures. Point to
the print as you read aloud.
* Words on a page have meaning, and that
is what we learn to
read.
* Words go across the page from left to
right. Follow with
your finger as you read.
* Words on a page are made up of letters
and are separated
by a space.
* Each letter has at least two forms: one
for capital
letters and one for small letters.
These are examples of hieroglyphics.
Imagine how you would feel if you were
trying to interpret
a book full of such symbols. That's how young
readers feel.
But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into
a puzzle you
can solve together) is certain to build confidence.
Home Is Where the Heart Is
It's no secret that activities at home
are an important
supplement to the classroom, but there's more
to it than that.
There are things that parents can give children
at home that
the classrooms cannot give.
Children who are read to grow to love
books. Over the
years, these children will have good memories
to treasure. They
remember stories that made them laugh and stories
that made
them cry. They remember sharing these times with
someone they
love, and they anticipate with joy the time when
they will be
able to read for themselves.
By reading aloud together, by being examples,
and by doing
other activities, parents are in a unique position
to help
children enjoy reading and see the value of it.
Important Things To Know
It is important to keep fun in your parent-child
reading
and to let joy set the tone and pace. Here is
a story to keep
in mind.
Shamu is a performing whale, to the delight
of many.
However, she sometimes gets distracted and refuses
to do her
tricks. When that happens, her trainers stand
around in
dripping wetsuits and wait for her stubbornness
to pass. They
know that when a 5,000-pound whale decides she
doesn't want to
flip her tail on cue, there is very little anyone
can do about
it. But whales like to play, and sooner or later
Shamu returns
to the game of performing for her audience. Shamu's
trainers
know this so they're always patient, they're always
confident,
and they always make performing fun.
While helping your child become a reader
is certainly
different from training a whale, the same qualities
of
patience, confidence, and playfulness in your
approach will get
results. If, from time to time, your child gets
distracted and
loses interest, take a break. Children love to
learn. Give them
a little breathing room, and their interest will
always be
renewed.
It's Part of Life
Although the life of a parent is often
hectic, you should
try to read with your child at least once a day
at a regularly
scheduled time. But don't be discouraged if you
skip a day or
don't always keep to your schedule. Just read
to your child as
often as you possibly can.
If you have more than one child, try to
spend some time
reading alone with each child, especially if they're
more than
2 years apart. However, it's also fine to read
to children at
different stages and ages at the same time. Most
children enjoy
listening to many types of stories. When stories
are complex,
children can still get the idea and can be encouraged
to ask
questions. When stories are easy or familiar,
youngsters enjoy
these "old friends" and may even help
in the reading. Taking
the time to read with your children on a regular
basis sends an
important message: Reading is worthwhile.
One More Time
You may go through a period when your
child favors one
book and wants it read night after night. It is
not unusual for
children to favor a particular story, and this
can be boring
for parents. Keep in mind, however, that a favorite
story may
speak to your child's interests or emotional needs.
Be patient.
Continue to expose your children to a wealth of
books and
eventually they will be ready for more stories.
Talking about Stories
It's often a good idea to talk about a
story you are
reading, but you need not feel compelled to talk
about every
story. Good stories will encourage a love for
reading, with or
without conversation. And sometimes children need
time to think
about stories they have read. A day or so later,
don't be
surprised if your child mentions something from
a story you've
read together.
The More the Merrier
From time to time, invite other adults
or older children
to listen in or join in reading aloud. The message
is: Reading
is for everybody.
How Do I Use This Book?
There are two types of activities in this
book to help
* make reading with your child enjoyable
and
* increase writing, talking, and listening
to boost your
child's love of language.
Most of the activities are for children
who range in age
from 3 to 10 years, with a few for babies. The
symbols next to
the activities can guide you.
Infant up to 2 years
Preschooler (ages 3-5)
Beginning reader (ages 6-7)
Developing reader (ages 8-10)
Enjoyment is essential in the process
of helping your
child become a reader. All of the activities are
written with
this thought in mind. So, if you and your child
don't enjoy one
activity, move on to something else and try it
again later.
Read Along
The following is intended to help you
become a parent who
is great at reading with your child. You'll find
ideas and
activities to enrich this precious time together.
Children become readers when their parents
read to them.
It really is as simple as that. And here's the
good news: It's
easy to do and it's great fun. With a little practice
you will
be making the memories of a lifetime, memories
both you and
your child will cherish.
It is best to read to your child early
and often. But it's
never too late to begin. Start today. Although
the activities
in this section are designed to enhance reading
aloud with
preschoolers and beginning readers, a child is
never too old to
be read to.
With youngsters, remember that reading
is a physical act,
as well as a mental one. It involves hand-eye
coordination. So,
when you read, involve your child by
* pointing out objects in the pictures;
* following the words with your finger (so
your child
develops a sense that the words go from left
to fight on
the page); and
* having your child help turn the pages
(to lean that the
pages turn from fight to left).
Look for Books
The main thing is to find books you both
love. They will
shape your child's first impression of the world
of reading.
What to do
1. Ask friends, neighbors, and teachers to
share the names of
their favorite books.
2. Visit your local public library, and as
early as possible,
get your child a library card. Ask the librarian
for help
in selecting books. (Also see the resources
section at the
end of this book.)
3. Look for award-winning books. Each year
the American
Library Association selects children's books
for the
Caldecott Medal for illustration and the
Newbery Medal for
writing.
4. Check the book review sections of newspapers
and magazines
for recommended new children's books.
5. As soon as they're old enough, have your
children join you
in browsing for books and making selections.
6. If you and your child don't enjoy reading
a particular
book, put it aside and pick up another one.
Keep in mind your child's reading level
and listening
level are different. When you read easy books,
beginning
readers will soon be reading along with you. When
you read more
advanced books, you instill a love of stories,
and you build
motivation that transforms children into lifelong
readers.
Books and Babies
Babies love to listen to the human voice.
What better way
than through reading!
What you'll need
Some baby books (books made of cardboard or
cloth with flaps to
lift and holes to peek through)
What to do
1. Start out by singing lullabies and folk
songs to your
baby. At around 6 months, look for books
with brightly
colored, simple pictures and lots of rhythm.
(Mother Goose
is perfect.) At around 9 months, include
books that
feature pictures and names of familiar objects.
2. As you read, point out objects in the
pictures and make
sure your baby sees all the things that are
fun to do with
books. (Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
is a classic
touch-and-feel book for babies.)
3. Vary the tone of your voice, sing nursery
rhymes, bounce
your knee, make funny faces, do whatever
special effects
you can to stimulate your baby's interest.
4. Allow your child to touch and hold cloth
and sturdy
cardboard books.
5. When reading to a baby, be brief but read
often.
As you read to your baby, your child is
forming an
association between books and what is most loved
-- your voice
and closeness. Allowing babies to handle books
deepens their
attachment even more.
R and R: Repetition and Rhyme
Repetition makes books predictable, and
young readers love
knowing what comes next.
What you'll need
Books with repeated phrases*
Short rhyming poems
* A few favorites are: Alexander and the
Terrible, Horrible.
No Good , Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst;
Brown Bear, Brown
Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.;
Horton Hatches
the Egg by Dr. Seuss; and The Little Engine
That Could by
Watty Piper. There are many good booklists
that highlight
those books with repetitive refrains. (See
the resources
section.)
What to do
1. Pick a story with repeated phrases or
a poem you and your
child like.
2. For example, read:
Wolf Voice: Little pig, little pig,
Let me come in.
Little Pig: Not by the hair on my
chinny-chin-chin.
Wolf Voice: Then I'll huff and I'll
puff,
And I'll blow your house
in!
After the wolf has blown down the first
pig's house, your
child will soon join in with the refrain.
3. Read slowly, and with a smile or a nod,
let your children
know you appreciate their participation.
4. As children grow more familiar with the
story, pause and
give them the chance to "fill in the
blanks."
5. Encourage your children to pretend to
read, especially
books that contain repetition and rhyme.
Most children who
enjoy reading will eventually memorize all
or parts of a
book and imitate your reading.
When youngsters anticipate what's coming
next in a story
or poem, they have a sense of mastery over books.
When children
feel power, they have the courage to try. Pretending
to read is
an important step in the process of learning to
read.
Poetry in Motion
When children act out a good poem, they
love its rhyme,
rhythm, and the pictures it paints with a few
well-chosen
words. They grow as readers by connecting emotion
with the
written word.
What you'll need
Poems that rhyme, tell a story, and are written
from a child's
point of view
What to do
1. Read a poem slowly to your child, and
bring all your
dramatic talents to the reading. (In other
words, ham it
up.)
2. If there is a poem your child is particularly
fond of,
suggest acting out a favorite line. Be sure
to award such
efforts with delighted enthusiasm.
3. Then suggest acting out a verse, a stanza,
or the entire
poem. Ask your child to make a face of the
way the
character in the poem is feeling. Remember
that facial
expressions bring emotion into the performer's
voice.
4. Again, be an enthusiastic audience for
your child.
Applause is always nice.
5. If your child is comfortable with the
idea, look for a
larger setting with an attentive, appreciative
audience.
Perhaps an after-dinner "recital"
for family members would
appeal to your child.
6. Mistakes are a fact of life, so ignore
them.
Poems are often short with lots of white
space on the
page. This makes them manageable for new readers
and helps to
build their confidence.
Read to Me
It's important to read to your children,
but equally
important to listen to them read to you. Children
thrive on
having someone appreciate their developing skills.
What you'll need
Books at your child's reading level
What to do
1. Listen attentively as your child reads.
2. Take turns. You read a paragraph and have
your child read
the next one. As your child becomes more
at ease with
reading aloud, take turns reading a full
page. Keep in
mind that your child may be focusing on how
to read, and
your reading helps to keep the story alive.
3. If your children have trouble reading
words, you can help
in several ways.
* Tell them to skip over the word, read
the rest of the
sentence, and ask what word would make sense
in the story.
* Help them use what they know about letters
and sounds.
* Supply the correct word.
4. Tell children how proud you are of their
efforts and
skills.
Listening to your children read aloud
provides
opportunities for you to express appreciation
of their new
skills and for them to practice their reading.
Most
importantly, it's another way to enjoy reading
together.
Family Reading Time
A quiet time for family members to read
on their own may
be the only chance a busy parent gets to read
the paper.
What you'll need
Your own reading materials
Reading materials for your children
What to do
1. Both you and your child should pick out
something to read.
2. Don't be concerned if your beginning readers
pick
materials that are easier than their school
reading books.
Practice with easy books (and the comics)
will improve
their fluency.
3. If you subscribe to a children's magazine,
this is a good
time to get it out. There are many good children's
magazines, and youngsters often get a special
thrill out
of receiving their own mail.
4. Relax and enjoy while you each read your
own selections.
A family reading time shows that you like
to read. Because
you value reading, your children will too.
Story Talk
Talking about what you read is another
way to help
children develop language and thinking skills.
You don't need
to plan the talk, discuss every story, or expect
an answer.
What you'll need
Reading materials
What to do
1. Read slowly and pause occasionally to
think out loud about
a story. You can speculate: "I wonder
what's going to
happen next!" Or ask a question: "Do
you know what a
palace is?" Or point out: "Look
where the little mouse is
now."
2. Answer your children's questions, and
if you think they
don't understand something, stop and ask
them. Don't worry
if you break into the flow of a story to
make something
clear.
3. Read the name of the book's author and
illustrator and
make sure your children understand what they
do.
Talking about stories they read helps
children develop
their vocabularies, link stories to everyday life,
and use what
they know about the world to make sense out of
stories.
Write and Talk, Too
While reading with your child is most
important, there are
other activities that help to get children ready
to read. With
a solid foundation, your child will not only read,
but will
read with enthusiasm.
Learning to read is part of learning language.
It's like a
little leaguer leaning to hit a baseball. The
young hitter must
learn to watch the ball when it is pitched, to
step into it,
and to swing the bat to make the hit. It's a single
event made
up of three acts. Baseball players learn to do
all three at
once.
The same is true of learning language.
When we use
language, we speak words out loud, we read words
on paper, and
we write. This section has activities that encourage
your child
to
* speak
* read
* write
* listen
Begin long before you expect your child
actually to read,
and continue long after your child is an independent
reader.
Now, turn the page and start enjoying
language.
Tot Talk
What's "old hat" to you can
be new and exciting to
preschoolers. When you talk about everyday experiences,
you
help children connect their world to language
and enable them
to go beyond that world to new ideas.
What to do
1. As you get dinner ready, talk to your
child about things
that are happening. When your 2- or 3-year-old
"helps" by
taking out all the pots and pans, talk about
them. Which
one is the biggest? Can you find a lid for
that one? What
color is this one?
2. When walking down the street and your
toddler stops to
collect leaves, stop and ask questions that
require more
than a "yes" or "no"
answer. Which leaves are the same?
Which are different? What else grows on trees?
3. Ask "what if" questions. What
would happen if we didn't
shovel the snow? What if that butterfly lands
on your
nose?
4. Answer your children's endless "why"
questions patiently.
When you say, "I don't know, let's look
it up," you show
how important books are as resources for
answering
questions.
5. After your preschooler tells you a story,
ask questions so
you can understand better. That way children
learn how to
tell complete stories and know you are interested
in what
they have to say.
6. Expose your children to varied experiences--trips
to the
library, museum, or zoo; walks in the park;
or visits with
friends and relatives. Surround these events
with lots of
comments, questions, and answers.
Talking enables children to expand their
vocabulary and
understanding of the world. The ability to carry
on a
conversation is important for reading development.
Remember, it
is better to talk too much than too little with
a small child.
What's in a Name?
Use your child's name to develop an interest
in the world
of print.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencil, crayon, or marker
What to do
1. Print the letters of your child's name
on paper.
2. Say each letter as you write it, "K...A...T...I...E"
3. When you finish, say, "That's your
name!"
4. Have your child draw a picture.
5. When finished, say, "I have an idea!
Let's put your name
on your picture." As you write the letters,
say them out
loud.
6. If you have magnetic letters, spell out
your child's name
on the refrigerator door.
7. Print your child's name on a card, and
put it on the door
of your child's room or special place.
It's hard to overemphasize the importance
of writing and
displaying your child's name.
World of Words
Here are a few ways to create a home rich
in words.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencils, crayons, markers
Glue (if you want to make a poster)
Newspapers, magazines
Safety scissors
What to do
1. Hang posters of the alphabet on bedroom
walls or make an
alphabet poster with your child.
2. Label the things in your child's pictures.
If your child
draws a picture of a house, label it "house"
and put it on
the refrigerator.
3. Have your child watch you write when you
make shopping or
to-do lists. Say the words out loud and carefully
print
each letter.
4. Let your child make lists, too. Help your
child form the
letters and spell the words.
5. Look at newspapers and magazines with
your child. Find an
interesting picture and show it to your child
as you read
the caption out loud.
6. Create a scrapbook. Cut out pictures of
people and places
and label them.
By exposing your child to words and letters
often, your
child will begin to recognize the shapes of letters.
The world
of words will become friendly.
Book Notes
With very little effort, parents can introduce
children to
the wide world of books.
What to do
1. Visit the library. Get a library card
in your child's name
and one for yourself if you don't have one.
Go to the
children's section and spend time reading
and selecting
books to take home. Check out books yourself
to show your
child everyone can use and enjoy books and
the library. Be
sure to introduce your child to the librarian
and ask
about special programs the library has for
children.
2. Start your own home library. Designate
a bookcase or shelf
especially for your child. Encourage your
child to arrange
the books by some method--books about animals,
holiday
books, favorite books.
3. Keep an eye out for inexpensive books
at flea markets,
garage sales, used book stores, and discount
tables at
book stores. Many public libraries sell old
books once a
year. You will find some real bargains!
4. Make your own books. (See activity on
page 46.) Child-made
books become lasting treasures and part of
your home
library.
When collecting books is an important
family activity,
parent send the message that books are important
and fun.
Family Stories
Family stories enrich the relationship
between parent and
child.
What to do
1. Tell your child stories about your parents
and
grandparents. You might even put these stories
in a book
and add old family photographs.
2. Have your child tell you stories about
what happened on
special days, such as holidays, birthdays,
and family
vacations.
3. Reminisce about when you were little.
Describe things that
happened at school involving teachers and
subjects you
were studying. Talk about your brothers,
sisters, or
friends.
4. Write a trip journal with your child to
create a new
family story. Recording the day's special
event and
pasting the photograph into the journal ties
the family
story to a written record. You can also include
everyday
trips like going to the market or the park.
It helps for children to know that stories
come from real
people and are about real events. When children
listen to
stories, they hear the voice of the storyteller.
This helps
them hear the words when they learn to read aloud
or read
silently.
Now Hear This
Children are great mimics. When you tell
stories, your
child will begin to tell stories, too.
What to do
1. Have your child tell stories like those
you have told.
Ask: "And then what happened?"
to urge the story along.
2. Listen closely when your child speaks.
Be enthusiastic and
responsive.
3. If you don't understand some part of the
story, take the
time to get your child to explain. This will
help your
child understand the relationship between
a speaker and a
listener and an author and a reader.
4. Encourage your child to express himself
or herself. This
will help your child develop a wide vocabulary.
It can
also help with pronouncing words clearly.
Having a good audience is very helpful
for a child to
improve language skills, as well as poise in speaking.
Parents
can be the best audience a child will ever have.
P.S. I Love You
Something important happens when children
receive and
write letters. They realize that the printed word
has a
purpose.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencil, crayon, or marker
What to do
1. Send your child little notes (by putting
them in a pocket
or lunch box, for example). When your child
shows you the
note, read it out loud with expression. Some
children will
read the notes on their own.
2. When your child expresses a feeling or
thought that's
related to a person, have your child write
a letter. Have
your child dictate the words to you if your
child doesn't
write yet.
For example:
Dear Grandma,
I like it when you make ice cream. It's
better than the
kind we buy at the store.
Your grandson,
Darryl
P.S. I love you.
3. Ask the people who receive these notes
to respond. An oral
response is fine--a written response is even
better.
4. Explain the writing process to your child:
"We think of
ideas and put them into words; we put the
words on paper;
people read the words; and people respond."
Language is speaking, listening, reading,
and writing.
Each element supports and enriches the other.
Sending letters
will help children become writers, and writing
will make them
better readers.
Easy as Pie
Preparing meals is another good way for
children to
practice language skills.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencil
Cookbook or recipes
Food supplies
What to do
1. Ask children to help you prepare a grocery
list.
2. Take them to the market and have them
find items on the
list.
3. Have them help put away the groceries
and encourage them
to read the labels, box tops, and packages
as they store
them.
4. Have them read the ingredients from a
recipe.
5. Prepare a meal together and let them take
needed items
from shelves and storage areas.
6. Talk about the steps in preparing a meal--first,
second,
and so on.
7. Praise the efforts of your early reader
and encourage
other family members to do the same.
The purpose of reading is to get meaning
from the page. By
using reading skills to prepare a meal, children
see positive
results from reading.
Write On
Writing helps a child become a better
reader, and reading
helps a child become a better writer.
What you'll need
Pencils, crayons, or markers
Paper or notebook
Chalkboard
What to do
1. Ask your preschooler to dictate a story
to you.
It could include descriptions of your outings
and
activities, along with mementos such as fall
leaves,
birthday cards, and photographs. Older children
can do
these activities on their own.
2. Use a chalkboard or a family message board
as an exciting
way to involve children in writing with a
purpose.
3. Keep supplies of paper, pencils, markers,
and the like
within easy reach.
4. Encourage beginning and developing writers
to keep
journals and write stories. Ask questions
that will help
children organize the stories, and respond
to their
questions about letters and spelling. Suggest
they share
the activity with a smaller brother, sister,
or friend.
5. Respond to the content of children's writing,
and don't be
overly concerned with misspellings. Over
time you can help
your child concentrate on learning to spell
correctly.
When the children begin to write, they
run the risk
criticism, and it takes courage to continue. Our
job as parents
is to help children find the courage. This we
can do by
expressing our appreciation of their efforts.
TV
Television can be a great tool for education
too. The keys
are setting limits, making good choices, taking
time to watch
together, discussing what you view, and encouraging
follow-up
reading.
What to do
1. Limit your child's television viewing
time and make your
rules and reasons clear. Involve your child
in choosing
which programs to watch. Read the TV schedule
together to
choose.
2. Monitor what your child is watching, and
whenever
possible, watch the programs with your child.
3. When you watch shows with your child,
discuss what you
have seen so your child can better understand
the
programs.
4. Look for programs that will stimulate
your child's
interests and encourage reading (such as
dramatizations of
children's literature and programs on wildlife,
natural
history, and science).
Many experts recommend that children watch
no more than 10
hours of television each week. Limiting television
viewing
frees up time for reading and writing activities.
It is worth noting that captioned television
shows can be
especially helpful with children who are deaf
or
hard-of-hearing, studying English as a second
language, or
having difficulty learning to read.
Make a Book
Turn your child's writing into a homemade
book. The effect
will be powerful. Suddenly books become a lot
more human and
understandable.
What you'll need
Construction paper
Yarn or ribbon
Heavy paper or cardboard
Colorful cloth or wrapping paper
Paste
Safety scissors
What to do
1. Paste pages of your child's writings onto
pieces of
construction paper.
2. Discuss the order the writings should
go in. Should all
the writings about animals go in one section
and the
writings about holidays in another? Which
writings are the
most important and where should they be placed
in the
book?
3. Number the pages.
4. Make a table of contents.
5. Make covers for the book with heavy paper
or cardboard.
You might want to paste colorful cloth or
wrapping paper
onto the covers.
6. Punch holes in the pages and the covers.
7. Bind the book together by lacing the yarn
or ribbon
through the holes. Make knots in the loose
ends or tie
them in a bow, so that the yarn or ribbon
won't slip out.
8. Add pages to this book as more writings
are completed or
start a new book.
Making a book is a multi-step process
from planning to
writing to producing a final product.
Make Your Own Dictionary
A letter dictionary is a long-term project.
What you'll need
Notebook
Pencil, pen, crayons, or markers
Old magazines
Safety scissors
Paste
What to do
1. Help your child head every page or two
with a letter of
the alphabet.
2. Cut out pictures of things from old magazines
that start
with the letters and paste them on the appropriate
pages.
3. Help your child label the pictures.
If it stops being fun, you can come back
to the project at
a later time. When you come back to it, don't
worry if your
child forgets something. That's the nature of
young children.
Parents and the Schools
Success in school depends, in large part,
on your child's
ability to read, and your role in helping your
child become a
reader extends into the classroom. The kind of
support you
provide will, of course, change as your child
grows older.
Your involvement and monitoring your child's progress
in school
can help your child become a better reader.
Involvement in school programs can take
many forms, from
attending PTA meetings to volunteering in school
activities.
Through action, not just words, you demonstrate
to your child
that school is important.
In monitoring your child's progress in
learning to read,
you need to look at both the programs offered
at school and
your child's performance. Below is a checklist
for different
levels of schooling. There is much more information
available
to help you evaluate school reading programs.
(See the
Resources section, "For Parents.")
Kindergarten
* Do teachers frequently read aloud?
* Are favorite stories read over and over
again and is
"pretend" reading encouraged?
* Are there story discussions with opportunities
for
children to talk and listen?
* Are there good materials available for
children to read
and have read to them?
* Do teachers discuss with children the
different purposes
of reading?
* Do children have opportunities to write?
Do they compose
messages to other people?
Beginning Reading Programs
When children start school, they receive
their first
formal instruction in reading. At this stage,
they learn to
identify words--by translating groups of letters
into spoken
words.
* Does the program include teaching the
relationship between
letters and sounds (phonics)?
* Are children reading stories that encourage
them to
practice what they are learning?
* Are children's reading materials interesting?
Do they
accommodate a child's limited reading vocabulary
and the
need to practice word identification with
exciting
stories?
* Are teachers still reading stories aloud
to children and
including good children's literature?
Developmental Reading Programs
* Do reading and writing activities occur
in every classroom
and in every subject studied? As you walk
through the
school, do you see displays of children's
writing on
bulletin boards?
* Are teachers providing direct instruction--teaching
strategies that help students become better
readers?
* Are there plenty of opportunities for
children to practice
reading? (For third and fourth graders, this
should
include at least two hours a week of independent
reading
in school.)
* Are there well-stocked school or classroom
libraries?
(Schools may enrich their collections by
borrowing from a
local public library.)
* Are children encouraged to write meaningfully
about what
they read? It is not enough to fill in the
blanks on
worksheets; the point is to have children
think about what
they read, relate it to what they already
know, and
communicate these thoughts to others.
Evaluating Your Child's Progress
It is important to monitor your child's
progress through
reports from the teacher. Also, it is important
to attend
school open houses or similar events where teachers
are
available to explain the program and discuss children's
progress with their parents.
If you think your child should be doing
better, consider
meeting privately with the teacher. In most cases,
the teacher
and principal will be able to shed light on your
child's
progress and what you might do to help. Your school
system may
have access to special resources such as a reading
specialist
and guidance counselor or to materials to address
your child's
needs.
You may want additional help for your
child. A good
starting point is the nearest college or university.
Most have
reading tutorial services that are available on
a sliding-fee
scale. If not, there may be faculty or graduate
students
interested in tutoring. Then monitor your child's
progress the
same way you would his progress in school. If
you do not see a
difference in performance in 6 to 8 weeks, discuss
the program
with your child's tutor. Can the tutor explain
the goals of the
program and document your child's progress? If
not, you may
wish to consider another course of action.
Some children struggle with reading problems
where the
cause is readily identifiable. Some of the more
widely
recognized causes of reading problems are vision
and hearing
impairments and poor speech and language development.
But there are other schoolchildren who have problems
reading
because of a learning disability. Whatever the
cause or nature
of a child's reading problem, the earlier the
difficulty is
discovered and additional help provided, the better
the child's
chances are of becoming a successful reader. (See
the Resources
section, "For Parents.")
The good news is that no matter how long
it takes, with
few exceptions, children can learn to read. One
of the most
important roles you can play in relation to your
children's
schoolwork is that of cheerleader. Applaud their
efforts and
their successes. Help them have the courage to
keep trying.
A Postscript about Older Children
You can't put a teenager on your lap and
read stories
every night. But you can still help older children
become
enthusiastic and fluent readers by adapting many
of the same
principles that work with the little ones. It
is especially
important to continue the following efforts:
* Encourage reading for the fun of it and
as a free-time
activity.
* Create an environment rich with books.
* Talk and listen to your children. Language
is like a
four-legged stool: Speaking, listening, reading,
and
writing are its parts, and each supports
the other.
* Read with your children every chance you
get--even if it's
just part of a newspaper article at the breakfast
table.
* Encourage children to write by responding
to the ideas
they try to communicate in writing.
* Set the example--put a book in your hands
and be sure your
children know you read for enjoyment and
to get needed
information.
* Monitor your children's schoolwork and
applaud their
efforts.
Resources
For Children
What follows is a sampling from the wealth
of children's
literature available.
Listed by age groups are three kinds of
children's
materials.
* Books that relate to real-life events
* Poems
* Magazines
There are many other excellent lists of
children's books.
For more information, see the next section, "Resources
for
Parents."
Children's Books and Real-Life Events
One sure way to get children to love to
read is to make
connections between books and what happens in
their lives. If
the book relates to what happened in real life
and children see
themselves in it, both the story and the event
take on greater
meaning. There are numerous books that deal with
almost any
event in a child's life. We present here a few
illustrative
topics to show the relation between books and
life. Topics
chosen include celebrating family occasions; the
very personal
experience of a loose tooth; a new baby; and knowing
more about
explorations in outer space.
Family Celebrations Ages 4 to 8
Clifton, Lucille. Some of the Days of Everette
Anderson; Ness,
Evaline, illustrator. Henry Holt & Company.
Greenfield, Eloise. Honey, I Love and Other
Love Poems; Dillon,
Diane and Leo, illustrators. HarperCollins Children's
Books.
Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. Crown.
Say, Allen. Tree of Cranes. Houghton Mifflin.
Zolotow, Charlotte. Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely
Present; Sendak,
Maurice, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's
Books.
______. Over and Over; Williams, Garth, illustrator.
HarperCollins Children's Books.
Ages 7 to 12
Adoff, Arnold. In for Winter, Out for Spring;
Pinkney, Jerry,
illustrator. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Baylor, Byrd. I'm in Charge of Celebrations;
Parnall, Peter,
illustrator. Macmillan Children's Book Group/Scribners.
Goble, Paul. Her Seven Brothers. Bradbury Press.
Esbensen, Barbara J. The Star Maiden: An Ojibway
Tale; Davie,
Helen K., illustrator. Little, Brown and Company.
Loose Tooth
Ages 5 to 8
Bate, Lucy. Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth; De
Groat, Diane,
illustrator. Crown.
Birdseye, Tom. Air Mail to the Moon. Gammell,
Stephen,
illustrator. Holiday.
Brown, Marc. Arthur's Tooth. Little, Brown
and Company/Joy
Street.
Carson, Jo. Pulling My Leg; Downing, Julie,
illustrator.
Orchard.
Cole, Joanna. Missing Tooth; Hafner, Marilyn,
illustrator.
Random House.
McCloskey, Robert. One Morning in Maine. Viking
Press.
McPhail, David. The Bear's Toothache. Little,
Brown and
Company/Joy Street.
New Baby
Ages 5 to 8
Alexander, Martha. Nobody Asked Me If I Wanted
a Baby Sister.
Dial Press.
Byars, Betsy. Go and Hush the Baby; McCully,
Emily,
illustrator. Puffin/Penguin.
Clifton, Lucille. Everette Anderson's Nine
Month Long;
Grifalconi, Ann, illustrator. Henry Holt &
Company.
Henkes, Kevin. Julius, the Baby of the World.
Greenwillow
Books.
Williams, Vera B. More, More, More, Said the
Baby. Greenwidow
Books.
Ages 7 to 12
Ellis, Sarah. A Family Project. Macmillan Children's
Books/McElderry.
Galbraith, Kathryn O. Roommates and Rachel;
Graham, Mark,
illustrator. Macmillan Children's Books/McElderry.
Greenwald, Sheila. Alvin Webster's Surefire
Plan for Success
(and How It Failed). Little, Brown and Company/Joy
Street.
Space Exploration
Ages 4 to 8
Barton, Byron. I Want to Be an Astronaut. Crowell.
Branley, Franklyn M. The Sky Is Full of Stars;
Bond, Felicia,
illustrator. Crowell.
Marshall, Edward. Space Case; Marshall, James,
illustrator.
Dial Press.
Minarik, Else H. Little Bear; Sendak, Maurice,
illustrator.
HarperCollins Children's Books.
Murphy, Jill. What Next, Baby Bear! Dial Press.
Wildsmith, Brian. Professor Noah's Spaceship.
Oxford.
Ages 8 to 12
Apfel, Necia H. Nebulae: The Birth and Death
of Stars. Lothrop.
Blumberg, Rhoda. The First Travel Guide to
the Moon: What to
Pack, How to Go, and What to See When You Get
There. Four
Winds.
Branley, Franklyn M. The Planets in Our Solar
System; Madden,
Don, illustrator and photographer. Crowell.
______. Rockets and Satellites, 2nd revised
edition; Maestro,
Giulio, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's
Books.
Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus Lost in
the Solar System;
Degen, Bruce, illustrator. Scholastic, Inc.
Embury, Barbara, and Crouch, Tom D. The Dream
Is Alive: A
Flight of Discovery Aboard the Space Shuttle;
with photographs
from Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. HarperCollins
Children's
Books.
Fox, Mary Virginia. Women Astronauts: Aboard
the Space Shuttle;
revised edition. Messner.
Lauber, Patricia. Seeing Earth from Space.
Orchard.
Livingston, Myra Cohn. Space Songs; Fisher,
Leonard Everett,
illustrator. Holiday House.
Ride, Sally, and Okie, Susan. To Space and
Back. Lothrop.
Simon, Seymour. Look to the Night Sky: An Introduction
to Star
Watching; illustrations and star charts. Puffin/Penguin.
Celebrate the Joy of Poetry
Ages 5 to 12
Bagert, Brod. Let Me Be... the Boss, Poems
for Kids to Perform;
Smith, G.L., illustrator. Wordsong/Boyds Mills
Press.
Bryan, Ashley, ed. All Night, All Day: A Child's
First Book of
African-American Spirituals; Thomas, David Manning,
musical
arranger. Atheneum.
Ciardi, John. The Monster Den: or Look What
Happened at My
House--and To It; Gorey, Edward, illustrator.
Wordsong/Boyds
Mills Press.
______. You Know Who; Gorey, Edward, illustrator.
Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
de Regniers, Beatrice S., ed. Sing a Song of
Popcorn: Every
Child's Book of Poems; illustrated by nine Caldecott
Medal
artists. Scholastic, Inc.
Esbensen, Barbara J. Cold Stars and Fireflies:
Poems of the
Four Seasons; Bonners, Susan, illustrator. HarperCollins
Children's Books.
Giovanni, Nikki. Spin a Soft Black Song, Martins,
George,
illustrator. Hill & Wang/Farrat, Straus and
Giroux.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Happy Birthday; Knight,
Hilary,
illustrator. Simon & Schuster.
______. On the Farm; Molk, Laurel, illustrator.
Little, Brown
and Company.
Lewis, Claudia. Up in the Mountains: And Other
Poems of Long
Ago; Fontaine, Joel, illustrator. HarperCollins
Children's
Books.
Lewis, J. Patrick. Earth Verses and Water Rhymes;
Sabuda,
Robert, illustrator. Atheneum.
Prelutsky, Jack. For Laughing Out Loud: Poems
to Tickle Your
Funnybone; Priceman, Marjorie, illustrator. Alfred
A. Knopf.
______, ed. The Random House Book of Poetry
for Children;
Lobel, Arnold, illustrator. Random House.
Sky-Peck, Kathryn, ed. Who Has Seen the Wind?
An Illustrated
Collection of Poetry for Young People; with photographs
of
paintings from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Rizzoli
International Publications.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of
Verses; Le Mair,
Henriette Willebeek, illustrator. Philomel.
Children's Magazines
General Interest for Ages 2 to 12
Cricket, the Magazine for Children, P.O. Box
52961, Boulder, CO
80322-2961.
Highlights for Children, 2300 West Fifth Avenue,
Columbus, OH
43272-0002.
Story Magazines for Ages 4 to 9
Chickadee, Young Naturalist Foundation, P.O.
Box 11314, Des
Moines, IA 50340.
Ladybug, Cricket Country Lane, Box 50284, Boulder,
CO
80321-0284.
Sesame Street Magazine, Children's Television
Workshop, One
Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023.
Science, Nature, Sports, Math & History
for Ages 7 to 12
Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young
People, Cobblestone
Publishing, Inc., 30 Grove Street, Peterborough,
NH 03458.
DynaMath, Scholastic, Inc., 730 Broadway, New
York, NY 10003.
National Geographic World, National Geographic
Society, 17th
and M Streets NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Odyssey, Kalmbach Publishing Co., P.O. Box
1612, Waukesha WI
53187.
Ranger Rick, National Wildlife Federation,
1400 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20036-2266.
Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time Inc., Time
& Life Building,
Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020-1393.
3-2-1 Contact, Children's Television Workshop,
One Lincoln
Plaza, New York, NY 10023.
U*S*Kids, Field Publications, 245 Long Hill
Road, Middletown,
CT 06457.
Zillions, Consumers Union, 101 Truman Avenue,
Yonkers, NY
10703-1057.
Resources
For Parents
The resources below are primarily for
parents, but you can
use them to guide you to resources for your children
as well.
Many of the books include excellent children's
book lists; two
are outstanding anthologies(*). In addition, don't
overlook
your public library as a source of book lists
for children.
Many publish their own lists of books that may
relate to
special programs for children or community needs
and events.
Butler, Dorothy. Babies Need Books, 2nd edition.
Atheneum.
Cullinan, Bernice. Read to Me: Raising Kids
Who Love to Read.
Scholastic, Inc.
*Fadiman, Clifton, ed. The World Treasury of
Children's
Literature. Little, Brown and Company.
Graves, Ruth, ed. The RIF** Guide to Encouraging
Young Readers.
Doubleday. (** Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.)
Hearne, Betsy. Choosing Books for Children.
Delacorte Press.
Kimmel, Margaret Mary. For Reading Out Loud:
A Guide to Sharing
Books with Children. Delacorte Press.
Larrick, Nancy. A Parent's Guide to Children's
Reading, 5th
edition. Bantam Books.
*Russell, William F., ed. Classics to Read
Aloud to Your
Children, 1984 edition. Crown.
Sader, Marion. Reference Books for Young Readers:
Authoritative
Evaluations of Encyclopedias, Atlases, and Dictionaries.
Bowker.
Trelease, Jim. The New Read-Aloud Handbook.
Penguin Handbooks.
In Addition
The Library of Congress, Children's Literature
Center
prepares an annual list of more than 100 of the
best children's
books recently published for preschool through
junior high
school age. To order Books for Children, #8 (1992),
send $1 to
the Consumer Information Center, Department 101Z,
Pueblo, CO
81009.
The organizations below also publish lists
of children's
books and other helpful brochures that are available
free or at
a nominal cost, as well as books for parents on
helping
children learn to read. Request titles and ordering
information
directly from
American Library Association
Publications Order Department
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
International Reading Association
800 Barksdale Road
P.O. Box 8139
Newark, DE 19714-8139
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.
Publications Department
Smithsonian Institution
600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20024-2520
Federal Sources of Assistance If Your Child
Has a Reading
Problem or Leaning Disability
ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted
Children
The Council for Exceptional Children
1920 Association Drive
Reston, VA 22091
National Information Center for Children and
Youth with
Disabilities
P.O. Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013-1492
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
9000 Rockville Pike, Bldg. 31
Bethesda, MD 20892
The National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically
Handicapped
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20542
(202) 702-5100
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services
U.S. Department of Education
Washington, DC 20202
Federal Publications for Parents on Helping
Your Child
In addition to Helping Your Child Learn
To Read, the U.S.
Department of Education publishes a number of
books on related
subjects. To find out what's available and how
to order,
request the Consumer Information Catalog listing
nearly 200
useful federal publications. The Catalog is free
from the
Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colorado
81009.
Acknowledgments
Marilyn Binkley of OERI provided a thoughtful
review of
the manuscript. The book she prepared entitled
Becoming a
Nation of Readers: What Parents Can Do gave inspiration
for a
number of the activities and was the basis for
the section on
parents and schools. Ray Fry, director of OERI's
Library
Programs, provided invaluable support and guidance
in
developing this book. Nancy Floyd managed the
production of the
book, assisted by Torey Evans. Also, our special
thanks go to
Leo and Diane Dillon for their advice on how to
work with
illustrators.
Bernice Cullinan is a professor of Early
Childhood and
Elementary Education at New York University and
a highly
acclaimed reading specialist. She has authored
numerous books
about children and reading, most recently Read
to Me: Raising
Kids Who Love to Read.
Brod Bagert is the author of several books
of poetry for
children to read out loud. Mr. Bagert visits dozens
of American
cities as a keynote speaker for Bill Martin, Jr.'s
Pathways to
Literacy. During the school year he is invited
to schools
across the nation to read his poetry aloud as
a way of
motivating children to read.
Darlene Marie Francis is a Guild Member
of YA/YA Gallery
and an art student at Delgado Community College
in New Orleans,
Louisiana. She has also studied at the Accademia
di Belle Arti,
Perugia, Italy. Her work has been displayed in
galleries in New
York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Memphis in the
United States,
as well as in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
and Tuscany.
Her whimsically painted chairs have appeared on
Sesame Street,
MTV, Today, and Japanese TV.
What We Can Do To Help Our Children Learn:
Listen to them and pay attention to their problems.
Read with them.
Tell family stories.
Limit their television watching.
Have books and other reading materials in the
house.
Look up words in the dictionary with them.
Encourage them to use an encyclopedia.
Share favorite poems and songs with them.
Take them to the library--get them their own
library cards.
Take them to museums and historical sites,
when possible.
Discuss the daily news with them.
Go exploring with them and learn about plants,
animals, and
local geography.
Find a quiet place for them to study.
Review their homework.
Meet with their teachers.
Do you have other ideas?
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